Wash-board



' UNITED STATES L. B. HARTT, 0F DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

PATENT OFFICE.

WASH-BOARD.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, L. B. HARTT, of Detroit, in the county ofWayne andState of Michigan, have made new and useful Improvements inV Wash-Boards3 and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the nature, construction, and operation of the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of thisspecification, in which- Figure lis a perspective view of the washboard.Fig. 2 shows the reverse side.

The same letters refer to correspondin g parts in the different guies.

My invention consists in adapting the two sides of the boardA todifferent kinds of work by making the corrugations of the respectivesides' of varying character-one coarse and the other tine-and also inthe peculiar shape of the face of the board by which it is adapted toact upon the clothes, which, grasped by the hands, are rubbed to and froover the corru gations of the board.

To enable one skilled in the art to construct and use my invention, Iwill proceed to describe it.

There are two sides to the board, and these are marked A and B, theformer being provided with deeper and more distant grooves, so as tomake beads or ridges a a ot' such a character as is suitable forordinary domestic washing. The other side, B, has fluting orcorrugations, similar to A in their character, but liner, closer, andcalculated to act more gently upon the fabric which is rubbed upon them.1t is adapted to the finer description of goods, such as ladies7collars, cuffs, laces, and other articles which demand carefultreatment.

It will be seen that the side A, in addition to the transversecorrugations which are marked y a, have three raised and two recessedportions,

which, considered together, form waves following the length of theboard. The depressions are flat, and are intended for channels in whichthe two handfuls of clothes are worked by the washer. It is believedthat this flattened form Specification forming part of Letters PatentNo. 48,811, dated July 18, 1865.

is much more conducive to comfort and ehiciency than to make a merehollow or simple convoluted form tothe said longitudinal wave. Withoutthe said tlatness to the bottom ofthe channel,in which the work ismainly carried on, the hands are cramped 'by being pressed into thedepression and the knuckles more subject to abrasio while by properlyproportioning the width ot the channel the clothes are embraced by thesides ot' the depression and all the efficiency due to the wavedcharacter fully secured.

Ou the side B one portion of the effective snrface is provided with adepression ot' similar character to those on the side A. The otherportion of the side B is dat. The description of fabric for which thisside is intended is generally manipulated by one hand, and but onedepression is considered necessary. The other side is fiat, and in somecases the modification may prove useful.

The holes c c, at the upper end of each side of the wash-board, are i'orsoap, and the hooks D are designed to catch upon the edge of thewash-tub and keep the washboard from slipping down farther into the tubthan is convenient to the operator. The set-screws E ofthe hooks D areshiftahle into holes, so as to determine the inclination ofthewash-board in a given tub.

Having described my invention, I will state that I am aware that thesurf'acesofwash-boards have been made with longitudinal depressions orwaves, in the hollows ot' which the clothes are manipulated; but suchhave been of a curved character and calculated to cramp the hand.

What I claim as new is- The Wash-board constructed with longitudinalgrooves on its corrugated surface, forming channels with flattenedbottoms,in which the clothes are manipulated.

I L. B. HARTT.

Witnesses:

EDWARD H. KNIGHT, C. D. SMITH.

